Antoni de Villarroel

Antoni de Villarroel (1656-1726) was a general of the Spanish Empire and the Holy Roman Empire during the War of the Spanish Succession. He fought for the pro-Habsburg Spanish army, fighting against France and the loyalist government of Spain. In 1713, Villarroel was appointed commander of the Army of Catalonia.

Biography
Villarroel was born in Vilanova dos Infantes in Orense Province, Galicia, to a wealthy military father and an Asturian mother. He fought in the defense of Barcelona from France in 1693 during the War of the Grand Alliance, but in 1710 he left the Spanish Empire for the armies loyal to the House of Habsburg and the Holy Roman Empire. He was given the thankless task of evacuating Aragon during the Franco-Spanish invasion in 1711, but he distinguished himself in the Battle of Villaviciosa. However, Villarroel was captured in 1714 when the French and Spanish captured Barcelona from the Catalans and Austrians, and was imprisoned in A Coruna. He was held in a cell that was partially flooded by the rising tide, causing two of his legs to be paralyzed. Villarroel died in prison in 1726.